


like a bright new dream

by stormss



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Declarations Of Love, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-03-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:22:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23125444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stormss/pseuds/stormss
Summary: It's been five days, and TK can't sit still anymore.*Or, the firstI love youcomes at an unexpected moment.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand, Marjan Marwani & TK Strand
Comments: 59
Kudos: 671
Collections: 9-1-1 Lone Star ▶ Carlos Reyes / Tyler Kennedy "TK" Strand





	like a bright new dream

**Author's Note:**

> hello! so it's been less than a week since the season finale and i'm already missing this show a stupid amount, and after playing around with this idea for a little bit here we are!! the title comes from _love you for a long time_ by maggie rogers! 
> 
> feel free to come say hi or send me prompts over on my tumblr, [ @reyesstrand!! ](http://reyesstrand.tumblr.com/)

It's been five days. 

TK can't help the constant tapping of his foot against the ground, barely able to focus on the various pages of paperwork on equipment maintenance sitting in front of him. He clutches the clipboard in his right hand, and absently scribbles a few lines down, checking boxes as he goes, but he sighs at himself and glances over at his phone where it's charging by the little breakfast nook his dad insisted be a part of the newly furnished kitchen way back when they were renovating the firehouse nine months ago. TK gives himself another two minutes of pretending to focus before he sighs and gently tosses his paperwork on the coffee table, moving quickly across the room when Marjan comes in. Cheerful as always, she waves at him, her earbuds still in place as she beelines for the espresso machine. TK smiles at her for half a second before he picks up his phone, hoping for an update or maybe a _read_ notification under his last few texts and— 

Nothing. 

It's been five days, and TK can't sit still anymore. 

He huffs and rips his phone off the chord, stuffing it into his pocket while he drifts toward the heart of the kitchen, leaning on his elbows against the island as he watches Marjan deftly use the machine his dad treasures like another kid. He hears Buttercup's heavy tread against the floor, and turns in time for the dog's head to nudge against the back of his leg, looking for some attention which TK happily gives. After a few moments, Buttercup heaves a very human-sounding sigh as he curls up to lay at TK's feet. TK checks his phone once again, to no avail. He flexes his fingers, hiding how they shake when Marjan turns to face him. She's occupied on her Americano for a few long seconds, but her gaze lifts up from her mug and she takes in his furrowed brows and nervous fidgeting and steps forward to mirror his position, from the opposite side of the island.

"You okay there, dude?" Marjan asks, hands curled around her pale green mug.

He sighs, and rubs at the back of his neck. "It's Carlos."

"Trouble in paradise?" Marjan cocks a brow, and TK quickly shakes his head, a laugh spilling past his lips.

"God, no," TK says. It's been a great three months of officially dating; despite the playful teasing from the team whenever TK shows up sleep-rumpled and wearing one of Carlos' shirts, or when Carlos meets him at the station for a quick lunch date, or when they all go out to the bar after a long shift and they make heart eyes at each other in front of the whole team, everyone showers them in love and support. His dad has already taken to talking to Carlos even when TK isn't around, and calling him _son,_ and the two of them _team up on him_ now, which is a new development. 

And fuck, TK just misses his boyfriend. 

He clears his throat, and continues when Marjan nods her head slowly, prompting him to talk to her like they always do. "He was a part of the team of officers that went to help with that fugitive pursuit in San Antonio." 

Marjan quirks her perfectly arched brow at him again, and he sighs. 

"And I fucking miss him." 

TK reaches over and plucks an apple from the bowl of fruit, twirling around the stem with his thumb. He tries to play it off like it isn't a big deal, but she makes a small noise in the back of her throat before making her way over to him, curling an arm around his shoulders. 

"Hey, he's off being a badass cop. Then you get all of that glorious man back for yourself," Marjan says, nudging into him lightly as he huffs out a laugh before dropping his head against her arm. Her tone shifts a little bit, and he looks up to watch her as she speaks. "Seriously, though. He's going to be fine." 

"I know," TK admits, because his rational side _does_ know that Carlos is a part of a pretty big team that was dispatched to help, and he's always protected, and he's good at his job. But the side of him that's falling in love with this man constantly has his stomach in knots. 

Marjan runs a quick hand through his hair, and when he doesn't immediately try and shake her off, she clicks her tongue a little bit. "We're all so happy for you guys, you know that, right?" 

"Yeah," TK smiles. 

"We want you to be annoying idiots together for a long ass time," Marjan says, downing the rest of her coffee as TK grins and playfully pushes at her. "So I'm sending good energies his way. Even though he doesn't need it." 

She nudges his shoulder, lightly, still keeping up with the team's hesitation to mess around with him even though he got shot almost four months ago, now. He sighs, and puts the apple back, no longer hungry. "I appreciate it, Marj." 

Marjan can clearly see that he's still caught up in his thoughts a little bit, and so after she moves to put her mug in the sink, she crosses her arms over her chest and gets teasing glint in her eyes. "What do you say to a little pull-up competition to get your mind off things?" 

"Ah, I totally would, but Cap's expecting my report—"

Marjan smirks. "It's okay, pretty boy, you can say you're scared to lose to me." 

TK squints at her, before sighing. "Alright. You're on, Marwani." 

And then the sirens go off. TK grins, drumming his hands against the granite countertop while she rolls her eyes and follows him down the stairs so they can get their gear on, teasing him about being saved by the bell as they all pile into the rig. And he tells her that she's not wrong, earning him a bright laugh in response.

* * *

Later in the afternoon, after responding to a small kitchen fire and a go-karting incident, TK walks into the rec room with a bowl of Paul's chili in hand, planning on settling in for a quiet stretch between calls with the TV. It's already turned on to the local news station, however, and he settles on the arm of the couch next to Marjan as he catches the last of the anchor's story before a _breaking news_ banner flashes along the bottom of the screen. 

_"And now for the latest out of San Antonio, where police have entered their fifth night of pursuing a man deemed armed and dangerous."_

TK swallows hard as the woman reads off the details provided to the public over the past couple of days, putting his bowl down on the side table and curling his arms around his stomach. 

"TK?" Marjan asks, bringing a hand down to rest on his forearm. TK can't find the power to look away from the screen.

_"We have learned this evening that while the team consisting of officers from Dallas and Austin, along with the local police force, was fired upon in an early-morning chase along the freeway, resulting in several superficial injuries for a handful of the officers —"_

"Hey, TK, I'm going to change this, okay?" Marjan's voice doesn't even resister in his mind. _Multiple officers injured? This morning? Carlos couldn't be one of them, right?_ "Damn remote —"

_"—we have been able to confirm that the suspect is now in custody, along with several accomplices."_

The rapid beating of TK's heart slows only a little, flashes of the gunshot going off appearing in his mind; a slight ringing in his left ear begins when he thinks of that day. A twinge of pain aches deep in the muscle of his shoulder and TK coughs lightly. 

"I'm going to get Cap," Marjan says, catching the flash of panic across TK's face, but TK quickly shakes his head. 

"No, no, I'm okay." TK meets her eyes and tries to put a fake smile on. "I swear. I'm just going to try and get ahold of him." 

And TK excuses himself from the room and walks to the bathroom, gripping the first of the sinks he gets to and squeezing until his knuckles turn white, his stomach turning. He tries to balance himself and he looks up at his reflection in the mirror, remembering his dad's words of advice the night before he was shot. _There's no guarantees, not for anybody. It's okay to love him, even if you might lose him._ He knows they were talking about Buttercup in the moment but his dad had looked at him all knowingly, as if he wanted the point to resonate with him beyond that. And TK realizes, after the panic over the last few days over the possibility of losing Carlos, of living without Carlos in his life, of him getting _hurt_ — he realizes, all at once, that he's in love with him. Capital-L, _love,_ and he knows that there's no doubt about that, now. 

His phone starts vibrating in his pocket, and TK nearly flings it across the room in his haste to answer it. Carlos' face, closed eyes crinkled around the corners as TK kisses his cheek, appears on his screen. Shakily, TK swipes his thumb across the screen and puts the phone to his ear. 

"Carlos?" He asks, wary, and he almost sags to the floor in relief when he hears a familiar voice on the other end of the line. 

"Hey, Ty," Carlos says, sounding a little worn out — but _alive,_ just how TK likes him. "I'm sorry, we've been running things non-stop for the past couple of days. And I've been at the hospital for the past six hours—"

"You got shot?" TK asks, voice rising a little too loud, his words echoing off the tile around him.

"No, baby, no, I'm fine," Carlos quickly assures him, and TK feels a million pounds lift off his shoulders. "I'm okay, I promise. It's just — Rhonda, one of the officers from my precinct, she got nicked in the thigh. I'm waiting with her until she gets discharged." 

"Shit," TK runs a hand down his face. " _Shit,_ I was so worried." 

"I'm sorry—"

"It's not your fault," TK quickly says, because that's the last thing he meant. Carlos lets out a shaky breath on the other line and TK starts pacing. "Just, this situation as a whole, it really sucks. I mean, I'm glad you guys got the fucker, but I just. I miss you." 

"I miss you too," Carlos sounds so _tired;_ TK just wants to curl up with him and sleep forever. "I thought we'd be heading home tomorrow but now I'm not sure. I might be a couple more days." 

TK frowns, a little, but doesn't want to put the added stress on Carlos. So he just says, "I understand," because he does. It just...really fucking sucks. 

"Stay safe, okay?" TK hesitates on adding more, on just _telling him_ right now. It'd be so easy to just tack on _I love you_ to the end of their call, but he can't bring himself to do it for the first time over the phone. Carlos bids him goodnight, and tells him to be safe too, and that he'll text him updates whenever he gets them. When TK hangs up on the call, he lets out a breath he thinks he's been holding since Carlos left five days ago. He probably won't be completely at ease until he can feel him again, but hearing his voice and his reassuring _I'm okay_ is enough to keep him from spiralling too much. 

* * *

"Don't you love false alarms?" Paul asks, voice dripping with sarcasm as the others grunt in agreement and file out of the rig. They all fall into easy conversation, while TK focuses on stripping out of his heavy gear and immediately checking his phone. He still hadn't gotten much from Carlos aside from a few more reassuring texts and an update that Rhonda was healing well, and he just wants him _home._

"Hey, pretty boy!" Judd's deep voice echoes through the station, from somewhere on the other side of the rig. TK rolls his eyes and shoves his phone back in his pocket. 

"You know, Judd, I do have a —" TK stops in his tracks, because standing next to the giant cowboy is Carlos, with his warm smile and soft navy t-shirt that hugs his arms," —name. _Carlos_?" 

"Hey, Ty," Carlos grins, and TK lets the public usage of his nickname slide because his boyfriend is _here._ Safe. Looking a little tired, but still. 

He ignores the heavy, knowing gazes peering down at them from every angle and runs forward, curling an arm around Carlos' neck. He feels his boyfriend's arms tighten around his waist, pulling him as close as possible, his lips against TK's throat for a brief moment before he buries his face in the skin there, breathing him in. TK pulls back from the hug and pushes up just a little on the balls of his feet, pressing the whole front of his body against the hard, sturdy frame of his boyfriend as he places both hands on Carlos' face, surging forward and kissing him hard but sweet, grinning into it when he feels Carlos squeeze his sides and kiss him back just as desperately. 

Despite the joking cheers around them, TK drops his hands down to Carlos' shoulders and smooths them down the man's arms, eventually tangling his fingers in the cotton of the well-worn APD shirt as Carlos brings a hand up to cradle the back of his head, bringing their foreheads together. TK lets out a happy sound when Carlos' blunt fingernails start scratching gently at his scalp. And he looks into the warm honey-brown of Carlos' eyes and all of a sudden the words are spilling out of his mouth, quiet and resounding as he says: "I think I'm in love with you." 

Carlos blinks at him, before a grin spreads across his face within seconds. "Really?"

"Yeah," TK says, feeling the last bit of that weight falling from his shoulders. " _Yeah_ , I love you, Carlos Reyes." 

Carlos pulls him even closer, and it kind of takes TK's breath away. "Funny coincidence, 'cause I love _you_. A hell of a lot." 

TK grins goofily, too happy and too overjoyed to even care about all the teasing about this that they'll have to endure for the rest of their lives. He just kisses Carlos again, and again, before hugging him close and resolving to never let go, as long as the man will have him. And Carlos looks at him like he's planning on doing the same exact thing. 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading this silly little thing! comments/kudos make my day!!


End file.
